Portable air cooler

ABSTRACT

A portable air cooler for cooling air circulated in a designated area. The portable air cooler comprises an air inlet; an air outlet; a refrigeration unit including a cooling coil, a compressor, a heating coil and an expansion valve operatively interconnected with each other; a receptacle for containing water; and a centrifugal fan preferably positioned between an evaporative pad and the air outlet. The cooling coil is configured for placement in the receptacle for cooling water contained therein. A water pump delivers cooled water to the evaporative pad mounted proximate the air inlet through at least one conduit. The centrifugal fan draws ambient air through the evaporative pad from the air inlet and directs cooled air into the designated area through the air outlet. A part of the cooled air is channeled through an air duct to cool the heating coil, reducing waste heat generated by the heating coil.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates to a portable air cooler for cooling aircirculated in a designated area; and more particularly anenvironmentally-friendly portable air cooler which has greater coolingcapacity and is capable of reducing waste heat being released into theambient environment during its operation.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

Air cooler has been widely used for cooling air in a designated area,especially by those living in uncomfortably hot and dry climates due toits affordability and lower power consumption. In a conventional aircooling system, water is used to wet the cooling pad so as to cool thehot dry air travels through the evaporative pad by evaporation. Apartfrom the surrounding air temperature and the relative humidity levelwhich could affect the efficiency of the air cooler to generate coldair, it should be noted that the temperature of the cold air generatedby the air cooler is also greatly affected by the temperature of thewater used to wet the evaporative pad. Air cooler which uses water withlower temperature to wet the evaporative pad could generate colder airas compared to those which use water with higher temperature. Typically,user who tends to get colder air will need to manually add ice to thewater contained in the tank of the air cooler by which this could createinconvenience to the users as ice will need to be added to the aircooler from time to time so as to retain the desirous cooling effect.

On the other side, although air conditioner could provide the desirouscooling effect, it is known to be not economical in terms ofinstallation and operating costs. Further, usage of air conditionercould indirectly cause an increased in carbon dioxide emission frompower plants due to higher power consumption. It is known that carbondioxide is one of the most important causes of global warming and globalclimate change. Further, waste heat generated by air conditioner couldraise the outdoor temperature, particularly in urban areas andcontributing to a rise in global temperature. It should be noted thathigh outdoor temperature could eventually lead to increased airconditioning demand and consequently power consumption, resulting in apositive feedback loop.

In view of these and other shortcomings, it is desirous to provide aportable air cooler which is economical and has greater cooling capacityby which the air cooler is capable of generating colder air without theneed for ice being manually added to the water tank of the air cooler.Further, it is another objective of the present invention to provide aportable air cooler which is capable of reducing waste heat beingreleased into the ambient environment during its operation.

The portable air cooler according to the preferred embodiment of thepresent invention and its combination of elements or parts thereof willbe described and/or exemplified in the detailed description.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to a portable air cooler forcooling air circulated in a designated area. According to the presentinvention, the air cooler comprises an air inlet, an air outlet, arefrigeration unit, a receptacle for containing water, a centrifugal fanand an evaporative pad.

In accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention,the portable air cooler is preferably having an upper compartment and alower compartment. Preferably, the upper compartment and the lowercompartment of the portable air cooler are separated from each other bya partition. By way of example but not limitation, the partition may bemade of plastics, aluminium, steel or metal sheet or any other materialswhich deemed suitable.

In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the refrigerationunit of the portable air cooler includes a cooling coil, a compressor, aheating coil and an expansion valve operatively interconnected with eachother. It should be noted that the cooling coil of the refrigerationunit is configured to be placed in the receptacle of the portable aircooler so as to cool the water contained in the receptacle. Preferably,the cooled water contained in the receptacle is delivered to theevaporative pad by means of at least one conduit operatively connectedto a water pump. It will be appreciated that the water pump of theportable air cooler is configured to supply and deliver the cooled waterefficiently to the evaporative pad.

According to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, theevaporative pad is preferably mounted proximate the air inlet of theportable air cooler. It should be noted that the cooled water ispreferably delivered to the top of the evaporative pad such that thecooled water flows down and wet the entire evaporative pad.

In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the centrifugalfan is suitably positioned between the evaporative pad and the airoutlet. It should be noted that the centrifugal fan is configured todraw ambient air from the air inlet of the portable air cooler throughthe wetted evaporative pad. It will be appreciated that the drawn airgets cooled after travels through the wetted evaporative and exits theair outlet so as to cool the designated area where the cooled air isdirected.

In accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention,the portable air cooler is provided with at least one air duct so as tochannel a part of the cooled air to cool the heating coil of therefrigeration unit so as to reduce waste heat generated by the heatingcoil of the refrigeration unit being released into the ambientenvironment.

The present invention consists of several novel features and acombination of parts hereinafter fully described and illustrated in theaccompanying description and drawings, it being understood that variouschanges in the details may be made without departing from the scope ofthe invention or sacrificing any of the advantages of the presentinvention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will be fully understood from the detaileddescription given herein below and the accompanying drawings which aregiven by way of illustration only, and thus are not limitative of thepresent invention, wherein:

FIG. 1a illustrates a front view of the portable air cooler inaccordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 1b illustrates a side view of the portable air cooler in accordancewith the preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2a illustrates a front view of the portable air cooler inaccordance with another preferred embodiment of the present invention;and

FIG. 2b illustrates a side view of the portable air cooler in accordancewith another preferred embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention relates to a portable air cooler for cooling aircirculated in a designated area. More particularly, anenvironmentally-friendly portable air cooler which has greater coolingcapacity and is capable of reducing waste heat being released into theambient environment during its operation. Hereinafter, thisspecification will describe the present invention according to thepreferred embodiments of the present invention. However, it is to beunderstood that limiting the description to the preferred embodiments ofthe invention is merely to facilitate discussion of the presentinvention and it is envisioned that those skilled in the art may devisevarious modifications and equivalents without departing from the scopeof the appended claims.

The portable air cooler for cooling air circulated in a designated areaaccording to the preferred embodiments of the present invention will nowbe described in accordance to the accompanying drawings FIGS. 1a to 2b ,either individually or in any combination thereof.

Referring to FIGS. 1a to 2b , illustrates therein is a portable aircooler 1. The portable air cooler 1 comprises an air inlet 500, an airoutlet 700, a refrigeration unit 100, a receptacle 200 for containingwater, a centrifugal fan 600 and an evaporative pad 400.

According to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, theportable air cooler is preferably having an upper compartment 50 and alower compartment 70 as illustrated in FIGS. 1a to 2b . Preferably, theupper compartment 50 and the lower compartment 70 of the portable aircooler 1 are separated from each other by a partition 90. By way ofexample but not limitation, the partition 90 may be made of plastics,aluminium, steel or metal sheet or any other materials which deemedsuitable.

In the preferred embodiment, the refrigeration unit 100 of the portableair cooler 1 includes a cooling coil 110, a compressor 130, a heatingcoil 150 and an expansion valve 170 operatively interconnected with eachother and formed a closed circuit.

Preferably, the closed circuit is filled with refrigerant. In thepreferred embodiment, the refrigeration unit 100 is sited in the uppercompartment 50 of the portable air cooler 1.

In the preferred embodiments of the present invention, the cooling coil110 of the refrigeration unit 100 is configured to be placed andsubmerged in water contained in the receptacle 200 of the portable aircooler 1 so as to cool the water in the receptacle 200. Preferably, thecooling coil 110 is made of copper tubing for efficient heat transfer bywhich heat from the water is extracted by the cooling coil 110 andthereby cools the water in the receptacle 200. In the preferredembodiments, the receptacle 200 is preferably positioned in the uppercompartment 50 of the portable air cooler 1 and seated on the partition90 of the portable air cooler 1. Preferably, the receptacle 200 is sitedbelow the evaporative pad 400 as illustrated in FIGS. 1b and 2b . Itshould be noted that water can be added manually to the receptacle byuser, preferably before the portable air cooler 1 is put into operation.According to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, theportable air cooler 1 is provided with a water pump 300. The water pump300 is configured to pump and supply the cooled water from thereceptacle 200 to the evaporative pad 400 through at least one conduit10. It should be noted that the water pump 300 of the preferredembodiments of the present invention may be placed external to thereceptacle as illustrated in FIG. 1a or is a submersible type asillustrated in FIG. 2a . In order to avoid water droplets from beingformed on the surface of the receptacle 200 and the at least one conduit10 due to condensation, the receptacle 200 and the at least one conduit10 are preferably enclosed with an insulator. By way of example but notlimitation, the insulator may be made from polystyrene or any othermaterials deemed suitable.

In accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention,the evaporative pad 400 is preferably mounted proximate the air inlet500 of the portable air cooler 1 as illustrated in FIGS. 1b and 2b . Itshould be noted the evaporative pad 400 is preferably having dimensionssufficient to conceal the air inlet 500 of the portable air cooler 1. Byway of example but not limitation, the evaporative pad 400 may be amultilayer fiber pad or a cellulose pad or a wood wool pad or corrugatedcardboard or the like. Preferably, the cooled water is delivered to thetop of the evaporative pad 400 such that the cooled water flows down andwet the evaporative pad 400. In one preferred embodiment, the at leastone conduit 10 is preferably extended to the top of the evaporative pad400. It should be noted that the at least one conduit 10 sited on topthe evaporative pad 400 is provided with a plurality of perforations 11configured to distribute the cooled water to the evaporative pad 400 asillustrated in FIGS. 1a and 1b . In another preferred embodiment, theportable air cooler 1 is further provided with a water receiving tray 20suitable positioned above the evaporative pad 400 and connected to theat least one conduit 10 as illustrated in FIGS. 2a and 2b . The waterreceiving tray 20 is having a plurality of distribution nozzles 21 atthe bottom of the water receiving tray 20. It should be noted that thewater receiving tray 20 is configured to retain and dispense the cooledwater supplied from the at least one conduit 10 onto the evaporative pad400 through the water distribution nozzles 21. It should be noted thatthe water droplets seeped from the evaporative pad 400 are collected inthe receptacle 200.

According to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, thecentrifugal fan 600 is preferably deposited at the central portion ofthe upper compartment 50 of the portable air cooler 1 and suitablypositioned between the evaporative pad 400 and the air outlet 700 of theportable air cooler 1 as illustrated in FIGS. 1b and 2b . In thepreferred embodiments, ambient air from the surrounding is drawn by thecentrifugal fan 600 at the air inlet 500 and traveled through theevaporative pad 400. It will be appreciated that the drawn air getscooled after travels through the evaporative pad 400 due to heatexchange between the cooled water and the ambient air that occurs in theevaporative pad 400. The cooled air exits the air outlet 700 to cool thedesignated area where the cooled air is directed.

In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the heating coil150 of the refrigeration unit 100 is preferably extending within theupper compartment 50 of the portable air cooler 1 in a helical formprior entering the lower compartment 70 of the portable air cooler 1such that the length of the heating coil 150 can be extended so as toincrease heat transfer surface of the heating coil 150. It will beappreciated that such configuration could allow heat generated by theheating coil 150 be dissipated efficiently. According to the preferredembodiments, the heating coil 150 is preferably surrounded by aplurality of heat transfer fins 151 as illustrated in FIGS. 1 a to 2 b.It should be noted that the heat transfer fins 151 could facilitate andincrease heat transfer rate so as to ensure that the heat generated bythe heating coil 150 could be dissipated efficiently to the surrounding.

In order to reduce waste heat being generated by the heating coil 150, apart of the cooled air is channeled to the lower compartment 70 of theportable air cooler 1 through at least one air duct 30 for cooling theheating coil 150 as illustrated in FIGS. 1a and 2a . In the preferredembodiments of the present invention, the at least one air duct 30 ispreferably extended from a space between the centrifugal fan 600 and theair outlet 700 at the upper compartment 50 and entered into the lowercompartment 70 so as to channel the cooled air for cooling the heatingcoil 150. It will be appreciated that such configuration could reducethe heat of the heating coil 150 and thereby significantly reduce thereleased of waste heat generated by the heating coil 150 to the ambientenvironment.

If desired, the compressor 130 of the refrigeration unit 100 of theportable air cooler 1 is further provided with a heat dissipationelement 131. Preferably, the heat dissipation element 131 is suitablycovered the top portion of the compressor 130 as illustrated in FIG. 2a. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the conduit 10of the portable air cooler 1 is further provided with a branch tube 13.According to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, thebranch tube 13 is integrally extended from the conduit 10 and suitablypositioned above the compressor 130 as illustrated in FIG. 2a . In thepreferred embodiment of the present invention, the branch tube 13 of theconduit 10 is configured to deliver cooled water droplets to the heatdissipation element 131. In the preferred embodiment, the branch tube 13of the conduit 10 is preferably enclosed with an insulator so as toavoid water droplets from being formed on the surface of the branch tube13 of the conduit 10 due to condensation. By way of example but notlimitation, the insulator may be made from polystyrene or any othermaterials deemed suitable. It should be noted that the heat dissipationelement 131 of the compressor 130 is configured to absorb the cooledwater droplets supplied by the branch tube 13 of the conduit 10. It willbe appreciated that the wet heat dissipation element 131 of thecompressor 130 is capable of absorbing and dissipating heat generated bythe compressor 130 and thereby decreasing the released of waste heatgenerated by the compressor 130 to the ambient environment. By way ofexample but not limitation, the heat dissipation element 131 of thecompressor 130 is preferably made from gypsum powder.

In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the portable aircooler 1 is also provided with a thermostat (not shown). It should benoted that the thermostat (not shown) is adapted to control theoperation of the compressor of the refrigeration unit 100 so as toensure the water in the receptacle could be maintained at the propertemperature.

It should be noted that configurations of various parts, elements and/ormembers used to carry out the above-mentioned embodiments areillustrative and exemplary only. One of ordinary skill in the art wouldrecognize that those configurations, parts, elements and/or members usedherein may be altered in a manner so as to obtain different effects ordesired operating characteristics. Other combinations and/ormodifications of the above-described configurations, arrangements,structures, applications, functions or components used in the practiceof the present invention, in addition to those not specifically recited,may be varied or otherwise particularly adapted to specific environmentsand conditions, manufacturing specifications, design parameters or otheroperating requirements without departing from the general principles ofthe same.

The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that the same maybe varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as adeparture from the principle and scope of the invention, and all suchmodifications as would obvious to one skilled in the art intended to beincluded within the scope of following claims.

1. A portable air cooler (1) for cooling air circulated in a designatedarea comprising: a refrigeration unit (100), the refrigeration unit(100) includes a cooling coil (110), a compressor (130), a heating coil(150) and an expansion valve (170) operatively interconnected with eachother, wherein the cooling coil (110) is placed in a receptacle (200)for cooling water contained therein; a water pump (300) configured todeliver and supply the cooled water to an evaporative pad (400) mountedproximate an air inlet (500) through at least one conduit (10); and acentrifugal fan (600) positioned between the evaporative pad (400) andan air outlet (700), the centrifugal fan (600) is configured to drawambient air through the evaporative pad (400) from the air inlet (500)and direct the cooled air into the designated area through the airoutlet (700), characterized in that: a part of the cooled air ischanneled through at least one air duct (30) to cool the heating coil(150) of the refrigeration unit (100) so as to reduce waste heatgenerated by the heating coil (150) of the refrigeration unit (100). 2.The portable air cooler (1) according to claim 1, wherein the portableair cooler (1) has an upper compartment (50) and a lower compartment(70) separated from each other by a partition (90).
 3. The portable aircooler according to claim 2, wherein the heating coil (150) extendswithin the upper compartment (50) of the portable air cooler (1) inhelical form prior to being deposited at the lower compartment (70) ofthe portable air cooler (1) so as to increase the heat transfer surface.4. The portable air cooler according to claim 2, wherein the air duct(30) extends through the upper compartment (50) into the lowercompartment (70) so as to supply cooled air to the lower compartment(70).
 5. The portable air cooler (1) according to claim 2, wherein theheating coil (150) is deposited at the lower compartment (70) of theportable air cooler (1) and is surrounded by at least one heat transferfin (151) so as to facilitate heat transfer to the atmosphere.
 6. Theportable air cooler (1) according to claim 1, wherein the evaporativepad (400) is a multilayer fiber pad or a cellulose pad or a wood woolpad or corrugated cardboard.
 7. The portable air cooler (1) according toclaim 1, wherein the receptacle (200) is insulated.
 8. The portable aircooler (1) according to claim 1, wherein the receptacle (200) is sitedbelow the evaporative pad (400) so as to collect leaked water from theevaporative pad (400).
 9. The portable air cooler (1) according to claim1, wherein the cooling coil (110) is submerged in the water contained inthe receptacle (200).
 10. The portable air cooler (1) according to claim1, wherein the at least one conduit (10) is extended to the top of theevaporative pad (400), wherein the at least one conduit (10) sited ontop of the evaporative pad (400) is provided with a plurality ofperforations (11) configured to distribute the cooled water to theevaporative pad (400).
 11. The portable air cooler (1) according toclaim 1, wherein the portable air cooler (1) is further provided with awater receiving tray (20) having a plurality of distribution nozzles(21), wherein the water receiving tray (20) is suitably positioned abovethe evaporative pad (400) and is configured to retain and dispense thecooled water supplied from the at least one conduit (10) onto theevaporative pad (400) through the plurality of distribution nozzles(21).
 12. The portable air cooler (1) according to claim 1, wherein thecompressor (130) of the refrigeration unit (100) is provided with a heatdissipation element (131) suitably covering the top portion of thecompressor (130).
 13. The portable air cooler (1) according to claim 12,wherein the heat dissipation element (131) of the compressor (130) ofthe refrigeration unit (100) is made from gypsum powder.
 14. Theportable air cooler (1) according to claim 1, wherein the conduit (10)of the portable air cooler (1) is provided with a branch tube (13),wherein the branch tube (13) is integrally extended from the conduit(10) and suitably positioned above the compressor (130).
 15. Theportable air cooler (1) according to claim 14, wherein the branch tube(13) is configured to deliver cooled water droplets to the heatdissipation element (131) of the compressor (130).
 16. The portable aircooler (1) according to claim 1, wherein the portable air cooler (1) isprovided with a thermostat so as to control the operation of thecompressor (130).